What's going on in Miami?

By Te-Ericka Patterson

I've been gone for a little over six years and I return to confront a citywide attitude of self-hatred. It seems as though no one who lives in Miami wants to be here.

When I tell people that I moved back home, their first response is a stunned, "Why?!" Not 'Welcome home' or 'We missed you' or ˜Let's celebrate.'

I've been given a dozen reasons why I should have never returned. "There are no jobs here." "Real Estate is ridiculously priced, you'll never be able to live how you want to live." "Everybody has AIDS, don't have sex with anyone."

When I speak to Black people they all complain about how much Cubans are taking over. When they say Cubans they mean all Hispanics, not just Cuban people. The racism issue has taken a turn for the worse. It seems as though the Hispanic community has grown so much that they are no longer a minority. And Blacks are dealing with the same hurtful issues about race, but with people they once considered allies.

There are no more white people in the city of Miami, well, I haven't seen any. I would've thought this would be a saucy melting pot of cultures, but with the northward migration of Hispanics from South Miami, Blacks are feeling like they are being pushed out of their own neighborhoods and they are very bitter about it.

The division is not only between the Blacks and the Hispanics, I have noticed that there is a growing gap in the midst of the Hispanic community. Last week I met a Hispanic guy who told me that all Hispanics want to get away from the Cubans, so they are moving out of the city of Miami to do so. Now tell me something, what’s so wrong with the Cubans?

I really don't get it. Maybe I've been away too long but aren't Hispanics and Blacks kinda like cousins? When did one become superior to the other?

Why do Blacks feel like they are being overpowered?

I grew up in Liberty City. There were no Hispanic people in my
neighborhood during that time. Since I went down the street to a
predominantly Hispanic high school I became intrigued by the Latin culture and I enjoyed its influence on my life. When I went away to college I had to deal with my own insecurities about my value, being thrust into an environment where almost every person around me was white. Hispanic students at my college were a minority just like I was, there was no angst
among us.

I allowed my perception of the psyche of whites to shape my self-worth. I made up my mind that all whites thought I was beneath them. I made up my mind that no white person could ever be my friend because they could not understand my struggle. I made up my mind that any negative treatment by a white person was equal to racism and intense hatred grew in my heart.

Then I woke up. Well, God woke me up. He taught me that my value did not lie in anyone's opinion of me. My value lies in Him. He stripped away
my anger and showed me the true source of my discontentment; I was insecure. I wanted to feel like I was valued. I wanted to be accepted.

Is there so much insecurity in our hearts that we cannot coexist without hating each other? Are we simply placing the blame on another race because of our own shortcomings?

There is no one to blame for your situation but you. As long as you are breathing, there is a chance for you to do something to improve yourself. I'm not anywhere near where I want to be in my vision for my life, but I'm not going to let my skin tone be the reason I never get there.

Dreamers delight in the fantasy. Doers make fantasy their reality. Make it happen.

I have mixed feelings about Miami.

By Hansen Sinclair


On one hand I hate how we are perceived by the rest of the country as either gun-slinging, pistol-popping, drug-dealing, bling-bling hood rats, or cosmetically enhanced, pretentious, arrogant, vote-fixing bastards.

What I do like about Miami is exactly what my co-columnist hates, the racism. I don't condone it, but I applaud how open it is in Miami.

If a Cuban -- or Dominican, or Puerto Rican -- doesn't like me, he can say it to my face. Granted, it may be in Spanish and it may offend me, but I would prefer verbal racism to hidden and subtle hatred.As for Blacks saying "the Cubans are taking over," if I were Cuban, I would, too. We always contradict ourselves: "The Cubans are taking our jobs. There are no jobs; the economy is bad." Well, which is it? Are the
Cubans really taking all the jobs or are there jobs that we refuse to take?

I refuse to believe that after our 400-year headstart on "the Cubans," they have been able to come into the country within the last 40 or 50 years and 'push out� Blacks. Our problem is we like to use other people as our personal scapegoats.

Any other minority comes over here, takes whatever job they can find and works their way up. African-Americans -- which is different from Black -- sit by and watch these jobs being picked up by others. An immigrant would come to Miami, sell oranges, socks and flowers on the freeway just to make enough to live in poverty...and freedom. But an African-American refuses to take a job as a janitor because it is 'beneath him.' What kind of
crazy talk is that?

I'm all for people trying to better themselves, be they Black, Cuban or African-American. As for the cost of living, stop trying to live above your means. I agree with Bill Cosby completely that Blacks do have their priorities all mixed up.

Five hundred dollar shoes or $200 books? I think I'll go with the shoes. I may not be able to read, but I'll be the best-looking dummy out there.

Another thing that bugs is driving by all the Section 8 housing, where rent is like $1.50, and seeing Escalades and Beamers parked outside. So, let me get this straight, you can’t afford to live in 'normal' housing, but your pockets are fat enough to lease a luxury vehicle? Makes perfect sense to
me.

The problem Black folks, is that we do not utilize our resources e.g. voting, senators, legislators and community activists. The truth is Black folks, we're not fighting against the Cubans, we're fighting against ourselves.